Title: Still Mine

Opens: July 19, 2013

If you want to look at this picture from a political point of view, you might think it was written by a conservative Republican supported by the editors of the Wall Street Journal and by ex-President George W. Bush. Let’s add The Reform Alliance, the most conservative political party of our neighbors to the north, since this is a Canadian movie filmed mostly in rural New Brunswick with some scenes in Ontario. Writer-director McGowan ridicules the bureaucracy that requires an 87-year-old farmer owning 2,000 acres of land to present a written blueprint for building a rudimentary house adjacent to his current abode and to use lumber that’s stamped by the local building department.

However, “Still Mine” is more of a chamber work about an elderly couple, the woman in the first throes of dementia while the man is physically strong and mentally acute, bearing the responsibility of caring for her and for dealing with the bureaucrats. The film comes on the heels of Michael Haneke’s “Amour,” similarly about an elderly couple, the man struggling to cope when his wife is felled by a stroke. The acting in “Still Mine” by James Cromwell and Geneviève Bujold is superb, one the same level as that of Jean-Louis Trintignant and Emmanuelle Riva in the Haneke film. “Still Mine” is technically proficient, giving viewers the feel of a farming community in which any resident can go to a government office without a one-hour wait for service as the only person there, taken care of immediately albeit by the usual sniveling official.

James Cromwell anchors the bittersweet story as Craig Morrison, a crusty, stubborn, independent sort who in his twilight years is ready to resist the force of the law, believing perhaps in the old saying that there is the law on one hand, and justice on the other. As though the government were not the principal demon nipping at his heels, he has to deal with the growing dementia of his wife Irene (Bujold), though they are obviously a loving couple. Irene is aware that her memory is going. She sometimes forgets that her husband is building a new, one level house to prevent her from falling down the stairs. But there is only one scene in which she acts out brutally against Craig, who is doing his best to prevent Irene from sleeping on the ground outside. Craig has one good friend, Chester (George R. Robertson), though you may wonder about this considering how they tease each other unmercifully and compete as to who has the better crop of berries.

The story is based on actual events, centering on Craig Morrison, a farmer in rural St. Martins, New Brunswick who battles a government bureaucrat (here played by Jonathan Potts), the latter sticking to the letter of the law as though having little sympathy for the fact that the modest new house is for Craig’s ailing wife. Craig has little money, not even enough to pay for a refrigerator truck, now required under another arbitrary law, if he expects to sell his bumper crop of strawberries. Canadians, even in rural areas, may be rigid, but at least when Irene has had to be hospitalized twice, we can be assured that her days in the medical center and weeks of rehab following will cost the family nothing.

The film won nominations for the 2013 Canadian Screen Awards, including best picture, actor, actress, original screenplay, cinematography, editing, original score and performance of an actor in a leading role. It’s great to see the 73-year-old Cromwell in his first leading role since “Babe,” playing beautifully against his co-star, 71-year-old Bujold. To his real-life credit, Cromwell is a major spokesperson for PETA.

Rated PG-13. 103 minutes © 2013 by Harvey Karten, Member, New York Film Critics Online

Overall – B+